Hec Edmundson Pavilion is the primary home for the Husky men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball team and gymnastics squad. The 2004-05 season marks the 79th season of service for the multi-pupose facility. The 2000-01 season featured the re-opening of the Arena after a major, 16-month long, top-to-bottom overhaul.

Originally completed in 1927, the arena underwent a $40 million, 19-month renovation between March of 1999 and November of 2000 to reconfigure its interior.

Despite a seating capacity increase from 7,900 to approximately 10,000, the arena is much more intimate than before.

Gone are the infamous roof support pillars that obstructed views of the court. They were replaced by a pair of "super-trusses" that run the length of the building from east to west. Each supertruss is 245-feet long, 30-inches in diameter and weighs 460,000 pounds.

The Pavilion's east end was converted into a practice court for basketball and volleyball.

Adorning the west end of the Arena is the Founders Club and a new Hall of Fame room that proudly displays Washington's outstanding athletic tradition. The expanded area offers much more public access to displays, trophies and historical information in addition to serving as a pregame and postgame reception area.

While the renovation of the main arena is stunning, the improvements to the support areas will greatly benefit Washington's overall program. They have dramatically increased the space of the sports medicine center facilities, equipment rooms, meeting rooms, media accommodations and locker rooms for many of the UW's teams, including football and men's and women's basketball.

The renovation design of Hec Edmundson Pavilion started in the summer of 1997. Construction began in March of 1999 and was completed in November of 2000.

During construction, the men's and women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams each competed in alternate venues. The men's basketball team played its home games at KeyArena in downtown Seattle.

Edmundson Pavilion is a monument to durability. The massive brick structure, with its signature Husky gargoyles on the west facade, is in its ninth decade of service. The Washington men's basketball team will be competing in the building for the 78th season, a stretch that has allowed the UW men's team to compile more wins in the building (776) than any other team in the nation has won in its current arena.

The Arena renovation is just one of many improvements to the Washington athletic complex as part of the Campaign for the Student Athlete. The $70 million campaign's goal is to ensure national competitiveness for each of the program's 23 sports. The Campaign also helped build an indoor practice facility and plans are in the workds to renovate the Connibear Crewhouse and complete stadiums for the recently constructed baseball and soccer fields.